Aussie Kyle Noke returns to Australia for the first time since 2007 to face fellow "The Ultimate Fighter" veteran, Chris Camozzi. Noke was one of the prized fighters to come out of the eleventh season of TUF, and while he was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Kris McCray, who eventually made his way into the finals opposite of Court McGee. Kyle was inevitably invited back by the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he defeated TUF teammate Josh Bryant last June at the "The Ultimate Fighter 11" finale, finishing him by TKO in the second round. ...

You heard it from Kendall Grove himself. According to the middleweight and season 3 winner of "The Ultimate Fighter", Grove will be returning where it all began for the 6'6 Hawaiian over 4 years ago when he meets Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Demian Maia on December 4, for the culmination of the 12th season of "The Ultimate Fighter" for the TUF finale show. ...

"I'd rather be fighting for the belt and be done with it," The Ultimate Fighter 10 champion “Big Country” Roy Nelson (15-4) told MMA Weekly Radio after knocking out 6'11" heavyweight prospect “Skyscraper” Stefan Struve (23-4) in 39 seconds at UFC’s Ultimate Fight Night 21 in Charlotte March 31. ...

The Ultimate Fighter 1 finalist “American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar's (11-7) appeal to the Combat Sports Authority of New South Wales was denied, according to an MMA Junkie report. ...

"The Ultimate Fighter" alum "JT Money" Jesse Taylor (8-2) will fight Dong Sik Yoon (2-6) at DREAM.10 in Saitama, north of Tokyo, 20 July, Taylor announced at his blog. Taylor tapped Eric DaVila (14-9) in a rear naked choke at Shark Fight in Lubbock last May. Yoon was TKO'd by Andrews Nakahara (2-0) at DREAM.6 in Saitama last September. Perhaps Taylor's most publicized win was against a rented limousine at the Palace Station Hotel in Las Vegas, which led to his dismissal from TUF's seventh season and admission to Alcoholics Anonymous. Taylor has evidently remained sobor since. ...

“Rumble” Anthony Johnson (6-2), Junie Allen Browning (3-0), David Kaplan (2-2), and “The Experiment” Krzysztof Soszynski (17-8-1) all walked away with $25,000 bonuses after their fights Saturday night at The Ultimate Fighter 8 finale in Las Vegas.

Johnson earned “Knockout of the Night” with a head kick that dropped Kevin Burns (7-2) to the mat in the third round.

Browning and Kaplan’s two-round brawl was “Fight of the Night”, which Browning finished via armbar.
Soszynski won “Submission of the Night” with his second-round kimura on Shan Primm (3-1).

Efrain Escudero's (7-0) wrestling was the difference in his unanimous decision victory over Phillipe Nover (4-1) to become season eight's lightweight "Ultimate Fighter" during the live finale Saturday night in Las Vegas.

The bout started with both fighters kicking. Nover looped a big right hand at Efrain’s head, which he ducked for the takedown. Escudero postured up, but Nover kept him away with his legs and scrambled to his feet, eating a right punch on the way. Escudero got Nover’s back and transitioned to full mount. Escudero rained down heavy right fists into Nover’s face before getting back on top. Nover attempted a triangle choke but with one leg trapped under Escudero was unable to cinch it. Before the end of the round Escudero was able to take Nover down to the mat several more times.

In round two, Nover threw a leg kick, then tried punches, but Efrain got the single leg for the takedown. The fight alternated between stand-up and the ground, with Escudero dictating. They both threw knees as they clinched at the cage. Escudero’s right hand tagged Nover and he landed a few inside leg kicks. Escudero scored another single-leg takedown, but they soon stood back up. Nover charged at Escudero with a big kick to the body, but Escudero caught him and slammed him as the horn sounded.

Another takedown by Escudero began round three, but Nover worked hard to get out, elbowing his side hard. Back to stand-up, Nover connected with two stiff jabs. He threw a knee which Escudero caught and again was wrestled to the mat. Nover worked for the omoplata while elbowing at Escudero’s shoulder. He tried to muscle his left foot under Escudero’s chin but Escudero rolled out with half a minute left in the fight. Escudero’s windmilling legs kept Nover from getting close enough to set anything up before the round ended.

The judges awarded Escudero the unanimous decision victory with scores of 29-28 across the board.

“Rumble” Anthony Johnson (6-2) KO’d Kevin Burns (7-2) with a third-round head kick in a fairly evenly-matched rematch at the TUF 8 live finale Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Both fighters came out trading leg kicks. A body kick by Burns was answered by a body kick-jab combination by Johnson. Burns shot for the double-leg takedown and landed in Burns’s closed guard. Burns climbed his legs up Johnson’s back but Johnson stood out of it and threw a few punches into Burns’s midsection until he moved into side control. Burns’s legs moved up again, this time securing a triangle choke. Johnson was able to slide out, however, back into Burns’s full guard. Referee Mario Yamasaki stood them up. Johnson landed a left body kick and jab-straight. Burns was flipped onto his back when Johnson caught a kick, but Yamasaki allowed him to stand back up.

Johnson and Burns again opened the round trading kicks. Johnson shot for the single leg, but although Burns defended, he got the takedown. Burns worked a kimura with Johnson in his half guard, but Johnson slipped out, ending up in full guard. They spent the rest of the round in this position, throwing short strikes to the body, and Johnson landing a few elbows into the face. Burns attempted another triangle choke and an armbar, and ate a hammerfist for his efforts.

Round three began with strikes, and ended soon after when Burns was felled by a left head kick, out cold. Johnson's revenge for his TKO loss in July via eye-poke was completed at 0:28 of round three.

Wilson Gouveia (12-5) tapped out Canadian middleweight “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (19-11) with elbow strikes in round one at the season eight live finale of The Ultimate Fighter Saturday night in Las Vegas.

The Brazilian Gouveia came out with a leg kick. MacDonald followed a right-left punch combo with a single-leg takedown, but Gouveia refused to stay down. Trading strikes, Gouveia dropped MacDonald with a hard left jab, and immediately fell on him with hammerfists and elbows, splitting open MacDonald’s head.

Referee Josh Rosenthal stopped Gouveia’s assault of MacDonald at 2:18 of round one.

Junie Allen Browning (3-0) submitted David Kaplan (2-2) with an armbar in round two at the live finale of The Ultimate Fighter 8 in Las Vegas 13 December, showing his critics that he might indeed belong in the Octagon.

Browning opened with an inside left kick that hit Kaplan in the cup. After an immediate apology from Browning, Kaplan recovered and the fight continued. The lightweights stood and banged with Browning throwing the crisper, more accurate combinations. Browning landed punches and a flying knee, interspersing them with kicks – each strike looked like it hurt. Both fighters attempted submissions when the fight went to the mat after Browning slipped, Kaplan attempting leg locks and Browning twice tried for a rear naked choke, but neither was able to finish. They stood, and ended the round with knees from Kaplan and an elbow from Junie.

Kaplan started round two with looping punches. Junie went for the double-leg takedown and landed in Kaplan’s half guard. Browning passed into side control, and smoothly transitioned into an tight armbar. Kaplan was forced to tap at 1:32 of round two.

Fighters.com spoke this week with The Ultimate Fighter 8 finalist “The Filipino Assassin” Phillipe Nover (4-0) as he was preparing to fly out to Las Vegas, where he will fight Efrain Escudero (6-0) for the season eight lightweight crown Saturday 13 December. Fighters.com:  I saw that you earned your black belt on Saturday, congratulations. Phillipe Nover:  Thank you.  Yeah, I didn’t even really expect it.  I guess when you least expect things, sometimes they happen.  I trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu for about eight years now, and my teacher, Soca (Alexandre Freitas), gave me my brown belt a few years ago.  Soca had a promotion ceremony and he was like, “Be there, man!  You better be there,” and I’m like, “Okay, okay.”  I thought I’d probably get some stripes and then I got my belt instead.  It was a big, big deal for me. Fighters.com:  How is your training going? Phillipe Nover:  Really good.  I really trained specifically for Efrain’s style and what I remember him to be on the show and analyzing his fights.  I train about eight to twelve sessions a week.  I do mostly double days and I’ve been doing about twice a week of live training like sparring and stuff and my conditioning.  I feel really good.  My weight’s good, I feel more ready for this fight than any other fight.  You know, pretty much I had Efrain on my mind for the last five, six months.  I’ve never been so focused on one particular person. ...

PAC-10 champion and NCAA Division 1 All-American wrestler “Darth” Ryan Bader (5-0) answered some questions this past weekend for Fighters.com about his participation in The Ultimate Fighter 8 and his upcoming bout versus BJJ world champion “Pezao” Vinicius Magalhaes (3-3). The light heavyweights will vie for the title of “The Ultimate Fighter” at the live finale 13 December in Las Vegas. Fighters.com’s top heavyweight contender “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) and Frank Mir (11-3) served as coaches for the season. Fighters.com:  Is the Ryan Bader we saw on The Ultimate Fighter the real Ryan Bader?  Do you feel you were portrayed accurately? Ryan Bader:  Most definitely, I thought they did a great job portraying the fighters’ true personalities, at least, if the fighters were actually being themselves.  But I have no qualms whatsoever about how they portrayed me on the show. Fighters.com:  Do you think any of the cast was misrepresented because of the editing? Ryan Bader:  In the end I feel that everybody got their true personalities out.  Some things were over hyped.  Vinny [Magalhaes] really isn’t that much of a dick, and Eliot [Marshall (4-1)] is actually very respectful.  Junie [Allen Browning (2-0)] is a nut just as he was portrayed. ...

TUF 8 lightweights Phillipe Nover (4-0) and Efrain Escudero (6-0) and light heavyweights “Darth” Ryan Bader (5-0) and “Pezao” Vinicius Magalhaes (3-3) secured a spot in the finals in Wednesday night’s episodes of the reality television series. Following the broadcast the UFC announced the full lineup for the live finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir 13 December in Las Vegas. Also on the card are a previously reported bout between middleweights “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (19-10) and Wilson Gouveia (11-5), and a rematch between Kevin Burns (7-1) and “Rumble” Anthony Johnson (5-2). Rounding out the main card is a lightweight match-up between TUF 8 competitors Junie Allen Browning (2-0) and David Kaplan (0-0). ...

Canadian middleweight “Athlete” Jason MacDonald (19-10) will face American Top Team’s Wilson Gouveia (11-5) at the live finale of The Ultimate Fighter 8 on 13 December. MacDonald’s manager, Mark Pavelich, confirmed the fight on MMA Weekly Radio Wednesday. MacDonald submitted “Punisher” Jason Lambert (23-9) with a rear naked choke at UFC 88 in September, just one month after he himself tapped out to Demian Maia’s (8-0) rear naked choke. Gouveia armbarred Ryan Jensen (13-6) in round two at UFC: Fight Night 15 in September. ...

Fighters.com phoned UFC lightweight Jorge Gurgel (12-4) to check-in on his preparation for his fight against Aaron Riley (26-10-1) at UFC 91 Las Vegas 15 November and our talk went places we never expected. FIghters.com: Jorge, your scheduled to fight at UFC 91.  This event is being hyped by the industry insiders as a UFC card with potential to set record pay-per-view sales.  What's your thoughts on being part of this event? Jorge Gurgel: To be honest.  It's a huge honor to be part of the UFC.  Period.  My dream in life has always been to be part of the UFC and fight in the UFC.  As far as the event being the highest pay-per-view event ever, for me it's just another fight.  You know, there's so much on the line for fighters now days.  Every performance counts. The next fight is the most important fight every time.   My job is always on the line. I am very focused on my fight and my teammate's fights: Dustin Hazelett and Kenny Florian.  I am worried about our performances and how the three of us are going to do and then everything else will take care of itself.  FIghters.com: Your opponent, Aaron Riley, is coming off two straight wins; but, it's his first fight in the UFC since 2006.  Do you think Riley's time away from the Octagon plays to your advantage? ...

Fighters.com can reveal that The Ultimate Fighter 8 lightweight "Lunatik" Junie Browning (2-0) has relocated to Las Vegas to train at Xtreme Couture. Fighters.com was in attendance Monday night when Browning had his first full session at the gym of Fighters.com’s fifth-ranked heavyweight and UFC Champion “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-8). Browning, a native of Lexington, is currently living with Xtreme Couture striking coach Shawn Tompkins (0-4). Browning joins another TUF 8 competitor, “Pezao” Vinicius Magalhaes (3-3), at Xtreme Couture. TUF 8 is currently airing Wednesday nights on SpikeTV in the States. ...

Conventional MMA wisdom has already matched "Count" Michael Bisping (17-1) versus the winner of UFC 93's main eventin Dublin 18 January between Fighters.com's fifth-ranked light heavyweight "Hollywood" Dan Henderson (23-7) and second-ranked middleweight "Ace" Rich Franklin (24-3). But, that's not explicitly what UFC President Dana White told The Sun 17 Octoberin the report that first announced that Bisping and either Hendo' or "Ace" would coach on the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. In fact, White promised The Sunthat Bisping would coach TUF 9 "win, lose or draw" versus "Crippler" Chris Leben (18-5) at UFC 89 in Birmingham 18 October. It doesn't make sense that Bisping would earn a fight versus either currently ranked and historically relevant mixed martial artist, Henderson or Franklin, if he drew or lost versus popular, but unranked Leben. Does it? ...

TUF 7 competitor Mike Dolce (3-6) and TUF 6 competitor War Machine (5-2), formerly Jon Koppenhaver, are set to fight in Mobile 21 November. "I just got the contract," Dolce told Fighters.com Tuesday. The fight was originally scheduled for 18 October; but, War Machine pulled out due to an injury suffered during training. Dolce had chided War Machine in a post on The Underground message board, saying, "I can certainly say that I was not coming into this bout 100% healthy, though I had never considered backing out.  The promoter is out thousands of advertising dollars, nearly twenty athletes are out an anticipated payday after six hard weeks of training and thousands of fans are left holding tickets." ...

UFC President Dana White confirmed Friday in Birmingham that "Count" Michael Bisping (16-1) and the winner of the UFC 93 light heavyweight main event between fifth-ranked "Hollywood" Dan Henderson (23-7) and second-ranked middleweight "Ace" Rich Franklin (24-3), who has moved up to 205 pounds, will coach on the ninth season of reality television contest The Ultimate Figher. "Win, lose or draw [versus "Crippler" Chris Leben (18-4) at UFC 89 Saturday], Michael Bisping will coach the UK team on TUF 9," White said, then added, "We’re looking at Henderson or Franklin to be the American coach on TUF 9." UFC 93 is scheduled for Dublin 17 January. Franklin coached on TUF 2 in 2005.  His team included heavyweight winner and now fourth-ranked light heavyweight "Sugar" Rashad Evans (12-0-1), who will challenge Fighters.com's Champion Forrest Griffin (16-4) for the title in Franklin's new weight class in Las Vegas 27 December. ...

By Steve Cha "I like the small guys.  They go at it," UFC President Dana White stated to TUF 8 coach Frank Mir (11-3). Lightweights Wesley Murch (3-2) and John Polakowski (2-1), who, in his words, “loves giving hugs to everyone”, didn’t disappoint White in the first fight of the night on Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter 8. Both fighters were able to land strikes and take each other’s backs; however, at the end of the first round, British fighter Murch injured his shin on a low kick attempt.  Ouch! Murch braved the pain, but, early in the second round, collapsed; and, the ref was forced to stop the fight. True to his words, Polakowski hugged Fighters.com’s top heavyweight contender and TUF 8 coach “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1), White, and Mir, forcing an admission from Nog': " I don’t care, you know.  I like to hug too." ...

At least four fighters who were eliminated in the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 8 last week have found work in other promotions. Joe Duarte (3-0), who was submitted via rear naked choke by Phillipe Nover (5-0-1) in round two, told Fighters.com, “I just cut much weight too rapidly. I thought I could make it easy but it didn’t turn out that way.  I was real slow and sluggish during the fight.  I will come back stronger next time....” “Next time” will be 26 September at the Alberta-based Colloseo Championship Fighting in Edmonton, against MFC veteran Ryan Heck (5-2). Heck was TKO’d in the first round at his last fight by Ryan Machan (5-2) in July. “Big Deal” Ryan Jimmo (6-1), who was eliminated when he lost a majority decision to Antwain Britt (4-1), will headline XFights: Ontario vs Maritimes 4 October in Moncton, New Brunswick. Jimmo, a Saint John, NB, native who now trains in Halifax, will face Toronto’s “Lethal” Jason Cecil (3-5). ...

"The fight starts right now," proclaimed Fighters.com's top heavyweight contender "Minotauro" Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) about his eventual UFC title defense turned fight for top UFC contendership versus Frank Mir (11-3). UFC President Dana White proclaimed the same thing to this season's 32 contestants to be coached by Nog' and Mir for the TUF 8 championship at lightweight and light heavyweight; but, before he could finish his sentence, Phillipe Nover (5-0-1) hit the deck in a fainting spell. "Fainting Phillipe" White called him; and, Nover had a tough opening challenge versus Joe Duarte (3-0). "I'm going to have to make him faint again," Duarte said before the fight. But, it was Duarte who had to tap in a Nover rear naked choke in the second round to keep from fainting. Nover opened the first round with a head kick, followed by a body kick. "He hits like a heavyweight," Nog' said. But, Duarte countered a Nover leg kick with a straight left that dropped Nover. Duarte pounced; and, Nover gave up his back and ate an elbow.  But, Nover actually pounded Duarte while Duarte had his back and attempted a rear naked choke. ...

Phillipe Nover (5-0-1) is one of the competitors on The Ultimate Fighter 8, which debuts tonight.  Nover is a lightweight on the show who has previously fought at welterweight.

Fighters.com: How did you get started in MMA?

Phillipe Nover: I trained martial arts since I was really young. I started in small competitions like Kung-Fu and karate tournaments, then amateur kickboxing. After my first MMA fight it was like a drug! I was hooked!

Fighters.com: Where do you train? Who do you train with?

Phillipe Nover: I train with team Insight. We are an MMA camp out of Brooklyn New York. Some up and coming fighters out of the camp are Dave Branch [2-0], Nardu Debrah [6-4], and John Beneduce [2-1]. Fighters.com: What do you listen to when you train? Phillipe Nover: My iPod has everything from rap, hip hop, rock, to movie soundtracks like Batman or Braveheart. Fighters.com: Who are some of your heroes, in sports or otherwise? Phillipe Nover: I love Arnold Schwarzenegger! He's the man. He started with almost nothing when he came to this country. Used his body to become Mr. Olympia . Became a celebrity, invested his money right, married a Kennedy, and now he's governor! He's the man!

...

“Big Deal” Ryan Jimmo (6-1) is a light heavyweight on The Ultimate Fighter 8, premiering tonight.  Jimmo has fought most of his fights as a heavyweight but his last few were at 205 pounds.  He is a former Pan Am Games silver medalist in karate. The 26-year-old Canadian from Halifax trained at Titans MMA but recently switched gyms and is currently at Fitplus.  Jimmo answered a few questions for Fighters.com this week. Fighters.com: How did you get involved with TUF 8? Ryan Jimmo: I got involved with TUF 8 by a friend that sent me an email about the tryouts in Boston. I went down to the tryouts, got past the grappling, striking and interview rounds then down to Vegas for medicals and more interviews. And the rest is history (I always wanted to say that). Fighters.com: Are you training full time right now, or do you have other work? Ryan Jimmo: I'm training and working part time right now. Working as a doorman 2-3 nights on the weekend as well as teaching kickboxing and personal training. ...

Ryan “Darth” Bader (7-0) is a light heavyweight competitor on The Ultimate Fighter 8, premiering tonight.  He has a strong wrestling background; he was a three-time Pac-10 Championships finalist, and two-time All-American at Arizona State University. Fighters.com:  How did you get involved in TUF 8? Ryan Bader:  My first experience with TUF was when I helped Jesse Forbes [6-2] get ready for his TUF 3 finale. I was a bit reserved with having the "TUF" label put on me but after I saw CB [Dollaway (7-1)] and his explosion onto the MMA scene it just made a lot of sense. I paid my dues at the small shows and I knew it was time to make the move to the UFC. [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva has a ton of guys like me calling and asking to get in the UFC so TUF gives you a potentially alternate path. So after TUF 7 wrapped I went to Las Vegas to celebrate with CB and got to meet a lot of the producers. When it came time to apply I sent in my application and audition tape and had a phone interview with the producers. A few weeks later we got a call from the producers and they asked me to come up to Las Vegas for medical and interviews. Fighters.com:  Who are some of your heroes, in sports or otherwise? Ryan Bader:  My family, they are very supportive and lead by example. As far at sports heroes, I think any athlete pursuing his or her dreams at all cost is very inspirational. Fighters.com:  Where do you train? Who do you train with? Ryan Bader:  I train at Arizona Combat Sports. My striking coaches are Todd and Trevor Lally, my BJJ is taught by Gustavo Dantes and wrestling by Aaron Simpson (who was also one of my coaches at ASU). ...

Ido Pariente (8-3) is an Israeli lightweight in the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, premiering tonight.  He faced Fighters.com’s third-ranked welterweight and current EliteXC champion Jake Shields (21-4-1) in June 2007. Fighters.com:  How did you get started in MMA? Ido Pariente: I have been doing martial arts all my life, I started with karate and I hold a third degree black belt, when I was 18 years old I first saw the UFC and I knew right then that I have to fight there one day and now, 10 years after... here I am... Fighters.com:  Who are some of your heroes, in sports or otherwise? Ido Pariente:  Royce Gracie [14-3-3] was my first hero in this sport. I really look up to people that do things that seem impossible, like Randy Couture [16-8] holding the heavyweight title at his age and Anderson Silva [22-4] for not letting anyone pass the second round. Arnold Schwarzenegger is someone to admire, the guy came from a foreign country to the US with a dream, he became Mr. Olympia, then became the greatest action movie star and then a governor… all because he had a dream.  So people like that inspire me to keep dreaming and make my dreams come true... Fighters.com:  Do you train full time or do you have another job? Ido Pariente:  I train full time while having a job which is very hard! But my job is teaching BJJ and giving private class (BJJ and fitness) so I work my training schedule around my job. Fighters.com:  Where do you train? Who do you train with? Ido Pariente:  I train in Israel most of the time. I have build a strong BJJ group that keeps pushing me, and I have a Muay Thai coach, Itzik Franko, who is the best here in Israel, he has produced a world champion and two European champions and many other international competitors. Together we formed our team,TEAM FRANKO PARIENTE. Once a year I go to Brazil to train for about a month, but my direct teacher of BJJ is Patrick Bittan, a second-degree black belt under master Flavio Behring and he took second in the world championship in 2003 and 2005. ...

“The Immortal” Wesley Murch (3-2) is one of the lightweight competitors on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter.  He got his start in MMA when “Colossus” James Thompson (14-9) asked him to train with him for a fight due to his judo background. Fighters.com:  How did you get involved in TUF 8? Wesley Murch:  I saw that the deadline to get videos in was coming up soon and so I thought stuff that when is the tryouts. I looked and they were the following week but in Boston so I went straight online and booked a flight for Boston and a hotel for 5 nights and decided to try out. When my dad heard what I was doing he booked himself a flight and came with me and we made a bit of a holiday out of it. Fighters.com:  Who are some of your heroes, in sports and otherwise? Wesley Murch:  Winston Churchill is a great hero of mine.  I love all his speeches and think he showed the courage and determination that I like to think I can follow.  Martin Luther King is also a hero of mine and I respect anyone who really stands up for what they believe is right and because of his courage the world is a better place for many people today.  Mike Tyson is also someone I respect immensely.  [So] is James "The Colossus" Thompson because I have seen him start at the beginning and work to the top, never duck anyone and train hard despite many critics. Fighters.com:  Do you train full time or do you have another job? Wesley Murch:  I now train full time.  I used to be a doorman for eight years and a debt collector but I want to be at the top of this sport and I am willing to make sacrifices to get there so I now train full time. ...

Brandon Garner (4-1) is a lightweight competitor in The Ultimate Fighter 8, premiering tonight on SpikeTV in the States.   His career victories all came at 145 pounds.  Garner has taught Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Japan. Fighters.com:  How did you get started in MMA? Brandon Garner:  I started training jiu-jitsu while in high school at a Royce Gracie affiliate. I wanted to see if I could use my jiu-jitsu in the Octagon like Royce did and so I signed up for a fight and just kept doing it. Fighters.com:  Where do you train? Who do you train with? Brandon Garner:  I train in Raleigh, NC and Fayetteville, NC with Team ROC. Some other notable fighters who train with us include Tim Kennedy [9-2] and Jason Palacios [6-4]. Fighters.com:  Do you train full time or are you still training soldiers at Fort Bragg? Brandon Garner:  I still mix my training with teaching soldiers. Fighters.com:  How did you get started training soldiers? Brandon Garner:  One of my instructors (Greg Thompson) got contracted to work at Ft. Bragg about 10 years ago. He started picking up new contracts and needed some extra help. About four years ago I was working at a bank and was very unhappy with my job. He called me and asked if I wanted to work for him and I jumped at the opportunity Fighters.com:  Outside of MMA, what are some of your interests or hobbies? Brandon Garner:  I played soccer in college so that is still a hobby of mine. I also like to travel whenever I have the time. ...

SpikeTV announced Monday that it will air all twelve episodes of the debut season of reality show The Ultimate Fighter, as well as the finale, on 13 September. Clips of a reunion special filmed recently at the UFC Training Center in Las Vegas will air throughout the marathon. TUF 1 cast members involved in the reunion are Fighters.com’s Light Heavyweight Champion and current UFC champion Forrest Griffin (16-4), Chris Leben (18-4), “American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar (11-4), Josh Koscheck (11-2), “Rock” Nathan Quarry (10-2), “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (10-3), “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (19-2), Bobby Southworth (9-5), and “Quick” Mike Swick (12-2). The reunion special will be hosted by Joe Rogan, and UFC President Dana White will also be on hand to discuss the impact the show has had on the UFC and on the sport of mixed martial arts. ...

Monday the UFC officially announced its line-up for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, premiering 17 September on SpikeTV. The 16 lightweights and 16 light heavyweights will be coached by Fighters.com's top heavyweight contender and interim UFC Champion “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) and former UFC Heavyweight Champ Frank Mir (11-3). Lightweights Jose Aguilar (0-0) Fernando Bernstein (0-0) Junie Allen Browning (1-0) Rolando Delgado (0-0) Joseph Duarte (0-0) Efrain Escudero (10-0) Brandon Garner (4-1) David Kaplan (0-0) Eric Magee (1-1) Brian McLaughlin (0-0) Wesley Murch (3-2) Shane Nelson (9-3) Phillipe Nover (5-0-1) Ido Pariente (8-3) John Polakowski (2-1) George Roop (8-3) Light Heavyweights Ryan Bader (7-0) Antwain Britt (3-1) Jules Bruchez (0-0) Charles Diaz (3-0) Lance Evans (2-2) Karen Grigoryan (6-1) Jason Guida (17-17) "Big Deal" Ryan Jimmo (6-1) Kyle Kingsbury (7-1) Tom Lawlor (4-1) Ryan Lopez (4-4) "Pezao" Vinicius Magalhaes (0-1) Eliot Marshall (5-1) Sean O’Connell (0-0) Shane Primm (1-0) Krzysztof Soszynski (15-8-1) ...